Roberto Magris: Love Is Passing Thru

Love Is Passing Thru, by Italian pianist Roberto Magris and his quartet, was actually recorded almost two decades ago, in January and February 2005, shortly after a concert tour in the Far East, and was to be released on the Black Saint/Soul Note label before it was sold and went under. Fast forward to 2024, and Magris, now with Kansas City's JMood label, decided that in light of the passing a year ago of drummer and percussionist Enzo Carpentieri, the time had come to make his music and that of the ensemble available to the public.

This isn't strictly a quartet date, as tenor saxophonist Ettore Martin performs on only three of its thirteen tracks; elsewhere, it is mostly Magris, Carpentieri and bassist Danilo Gallo, although Magris goes it alone on four numbers including the first, "Hair, Bea, Nee, Calls," a rather strange title until one says it aloud as "Herbie Nichols," one of Magris' musical idols. Magris plays gong and adds his voice (sort of) to that one.

Love is the album's basic theme, as exemplified by Billy Strayhorn's "Love Has Passed Me By Again," "Love Came" and two versions of his classic "Lush Life," Marian McPartland's "In The Days of Our Love," the Don Raye/Gene DePaul standard "You Don't Know What Love Is" and Magris' "Two-Sided Love." Also on the menu are "Mi Sono Innamorato Di Tie," "Estate," Strayhorn's "Orson," Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz" and Gerry Mulligan's "Ontet," a respectable closer.

There are times when a recording is enhanced by percussion and other special effects; this isn't one of them. Truth be told, the best numbers are those on which Magris plays alone—that is, except for the first, "Hair, Bee, Knee, Calls," which is largely forgettable. Martin's tenor is fine on "Love Came" and "Love Has Passed Me By Again" but more or less wasted on the eccentric "Two-Sided Love." Without Martin's help, the trio massacres the customarily charming "You Don't Know What Love Is."

As for Carpentieri, he enlarges his drum kit with various Balinese percussion instruments including the gong, reyong, cengceng, kopyak, kalimba, woodshells and chimes, which may sound exotic but don't add much to the over-all ambience and color, while Danilo's bass is heard on half a dozen tracks (and he has the last ninety seconds of Strayhorn's "Orson" to himself). Magris plays solo on back-to-back versions of "Lush Life," which are so similar that one would have sufficed.

As an historical look at Magris' musical point of view twenty years ago and a glimpse at how far he has come (in a good way) since then, Love Is Passing Thru serves a purpose. Aside from that, there isn't a whole lot to applaud or endorse.